Famous Firsts with Michael “Marty” Whitney
Michael “Marty” Whitney
Morning Show Host
91X/San Diego
1993 Ski and Snowboard Reporter at KRZQ Reno. Current talk and fmr. KROQ character guy with Kevin and Bean, Brian Suits invited me aboard his morning show. KLLC Jayn, KOZZ Max Volume, PD Rob Brooks, KXTE alumni Chris Ripley were teammates too. I was paid in lift tickets from the prize close and went riding Lake Tahoe ski resorts after 10a.
Jan. 27 1987 - Bon Jovi “Slippery When Wet” tour. Everything from the hesher puking on our freshly purchased concert shirts on the floor next to us to Sambora’s double necked dry ice fog saturated guitar, I was in love with it all!
Culture Club “ Karma Chameleon” on 45 but before that I was fined by my local library for not returning Queen's “Greatest Hits” so I paid for cost of the 12 inch.
At age 13, Cornell Gunter of The Coasters (Yakety-Yak, Charlie Brown) when my mom told me to come sit in her section during her graveyard shift at the Ormsby House coffee shop in Carson City, NV. cuz she wanted me to meet the band who held court drinking in hot tea and eating house hash after their second show of the night.
To save a buck, the company agreed to use a bartered satellite feed of music with DJs. I’d been live on overnights but was repurposed as the board operator In favor of the service called “The Exit”. The feed was inconsistent and often ceased playing music 10 mins. at time or more as I sat watching. One overnight at 3a, The Boss called and said “we are off the air!”. I said “yeah, the satellite service stopped playing about 30 minutes ago”. He said “well play a CD!” “There’s no music log, should I play whatever”, I replied. He said, “Yes, play anything”. KRZQ put me back on the next night and “The Exit” exited.
